Show n Tell : Filament Drying Device For Around $15 bucks

[David Clunie]

Seem to recall something about Icarus flying too close to something...  Attempting to dry out some filament that might have a bit too much moisture, because I left it out.   Most 3d filament is hygroscopic, meaning it'll absorb moisture from the air.  When you print with moisture laden filament you get little pock marks/bubbles/holes from when the water turns into steam.  To fix this you need to "dry out" the filament. (head to the blog to read more) :D

[Ryan Carlyle]

Did you mean to post a link?

[David Clunie]

I thought the pic was linked to the article to my blog, but I guess its not ;) so here is it http://www.dbclunie.com/2014/03/3d-printing-drying-filament-for-15.html

[Ryan Carlyle]

Good knowledge-sharing, thanks. I think going with a lower-wattage bulb would be a good idea. If you smell plastic, you're probably baking plasticizer out of the filament, so over time (multiple drying cycles) it'll get brittle. Did you do any temperature checks while it was running?

I have a toaster oven on order. It's a more expensive and higher-power option than light+bucket but I'm going to see if I can get the low-end temp control accurate enough for filament drying and thermal annealing of ABS prints. (IE heat soak a print right below the glass point to eliminate residual warping stresses.) I've got some thermostat / heater control parts lying around, so I'm cautiously optimistic I can make it work without frying any spools!

[David Clunie]

Whoa, interesting idea with the ABS annealing (I'm familiar with the concept in use with glassware and ceramics).  Never thought about applying the concept to ABS ;) nice.  I didn't take any temp readings, I might do so tonight as I do have one of those temp guns. (which my multimeter had a temp probe :( ) 

On Thu, Mar 6, 2014 at 5:39 PM, Ryan Carlyle <temp...@gmail.com> wrote:

Good knowledge-sharing, thanks. I think going with a lower-wattage bulb would be a good idea. If you smell plastic, you're probably baking plasticizer out of the filament, so over time (multiple drying cycles) it'll get brittle. Did you do any temperature checks while it was running?

I have a toaster oven on order. It's a more expensive and higher-power option than light+bucket but I'm going to see if I can get the low-end temp control accurate enough for filament drying and thermal annealing of ABS prints. (IE heat soak a print right below the glass point to eliminate residual warping stresses.) I've got some thermostat / heater control parts lying around, so I'm cautiously optimistic I can make it work without frying any spools!

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[Ryan Carlyle]

I saw a vague reference to annealing on an old forum thread somewhere -- it's not something people talk about much. I don't know if it makes any difference in mechanical strength but I want to find out. 

I figure, if there is enough interlayer shear stress in the ABS to warp it off the build plate, there's enough stress to reduce the strength of parts. This would contribute to the fact that Z layer adhesion is ~30-60% weaker than the XY layers. Maybe with annealing you get that Z axis strength up a bit.

Temp control would be tricky though -- you have to be in the "creep" region for the material. That's about a 5-10C range right below the glass point. Go too high, and the print will sag.

All this -- annealing and filament drying -- really does affect the plasticizer content. I have no idea how much difference that makes to the print quality and part toughness.